Quote:
Originally Posted by Xaccers
As I said, ineffective action to resolve a problem is the same as taking no action at all.
If a house was on fire, and someone stood by just watching, another person tried to blow out the flames, and a third person phoned the fire brigade, which of the three should be thanked?
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The outcome
may be the same, but you are still making a factual error. In one case, action is taken, in the other, it is not. Ergo, it is not the same thing.
Which person should be thanked does not alter the facts of the case. What you are doing (again) is confusing action with your opinion on the effectiveness of action. In your illustration it would would still be factually incorrect to say that the second person did nothing, even after allowing for the grotesque parody you're using to try to prove your point.
It is a matter of debate whether blowing on a housefire is analogous with diplomatic efforts to engage with Saddam. However it's a debate I'm not interested in getting back into at the moment.